Ministry of Information Communication and Technology (ICT) is on the spotlight over Sh12 billion loan to construct major infrastructure projects from the governments of Italy and China.
According to Auditor General Nancy Gathungu in a report the government failed to submit necessary records for the loans that were later given to Chinese technology giant Huawei and Italian infrastructure firm Impresa Costruzioni Maltauro (ICM).
“The payments made comprised borrowings totaling Sh2.6 billion for data centre at Konza Technopolis, an amount of Sh608 million from China for National Optic Fibre Backbone project and a total of Sh9.2 billion for Konza Technocity,” Gathungu said.
The Konza project, conceived in 2017 by the ICT ministry and Huawei, entails the development of core infrastructure including a national cloud data centre, a smart ICT network, a public safe city and smart traffic solution, and a government cloud and enterprise service.
The first phase, which also includes a recycling facility, bulk water treatment plant, fibre optic links and a power station, was expected to attract 30,000 residents, 7,500 knowledge workers and 16,700 other workers upon completion.
As of June, last year, however, civil works at Konza stood at 56 per cent while construction of horizontal infrastructure stood at 60 per cent.
This is the second time in as many years that the Auditor General is flagging payments made to contractors associated with the Konza Technopolis project.